Welcome to the Boise Committee on Foreign Relations

The Boise Committee on Foreign Relations (BoiseCFR) is a non-profit, non-partisan group of Southern Idaho's
Treasure Valley area business, professional and other persons interested in international relation issues and dialogue. The primary goal
of the BoiseCFR is to advance the public information and dialogue on foreign relation issues.

BoiseCFR Dinner Meetings

The BoiseCFR is now in its 73rd year of promoting foreign relations diologue in Boise.

We are now well into our meetings schedule for the 2017-2018
speaker season.
For details on upcoming speakers for the 2017-2018 season meetings, go to our
Coming Events page.

Our January 2016
dinner meeting with Ambassador Thomas Pickering had a then record attendance of over 130. Since that time we are now averaging nearly that number at every meeting.

The BoiseCFR's regular season of dinner meetings run from September through May
with an occasional June meeting.
The speakers are knowledgeable international and national experts on a wide variety of foreign policy topics. These speakers provide insights and perspectives about current foreign relation issues that are often hard to obtain from other sources. To get a feeling for the topics and quality of our speakers, go to the Past Speakers page
where you will find a short bio and the presentation topic of our
most recent speakers.

A typical meeting starts as a social period with fellow members, guests, and the speaker prior to dinner. After dinner there is a short announcement and introduction period. The
speaker's presentation is then given, and the meeting ends with an
open Q & A session with the speaker.

If these meetings are something you might find interesting, please go to our Membership page
to get further details about joining.

Educational and Timely Information

In order to help improve this local diologue, the Boise Committee on Foreign Relations often provides its speakers
to local universities and public schools to help inform students on foreign policy issues.

The picture on the right Shows Ambassador Vicki Huddleson talking to several hundred Boise High
School students in December 2012 just prior to her speaking at a BoiseCFR meeting about North Africa. Her presentation and discussion turned out to be
very timely, with a major uprising occuring in Mali only a few weeks later.

On the left Abdulwahab Alkebsi has a fireside chat with Boise State University International Business students and faculty in November 2013. Mr. Alkebsi was in town to talk with the Boise Committee about the Post-Arab Spring in the Middle East.

Our October 3, 2017 meeting with Daniel Benaim was on "The Trump Administration and the Middle East". He has a October 6,2017 interview on
Boise State Public Radio with George Prentice,
Go to this link to hear this interview:
"Daniel Benaim Interview"

Our March 6, 2017 meeting with Derek Shearer was on "American Hard Power and Soft Power: The Emerging Trump Foreign Policy". He has a March 20,2017 article published in Boise State's "Blue Review".
Go to this link for his article entitled
"Adjusting to Reality"

Also the meeting of Prime Minister Trudeau with President Obama has sparked discussions about Canada and the US
in this March 8. 2016 on-line article on the Brookings website."Bringing Canada 'back' for the long haul "

BoiseCFR member Don Liebich has written several articles and a book about the middle East. His most recent article dated 3/8/15
can be found at this link:
"Six things you need to know in order to understand ISIS". His book is titled "Fault Lines: The Layman's Guide to Understanding America's Role in the Ever-Changing Middle East".

American Committees on Foreign Relations

The Boise Committee on Foreign Relations is a member of the American Committees on Foreign Relations (ACFR). The ACFR is the umbrella organization for
BoiseCFR and other committees across the nation. Through its office
and connections in Washington, D. C., the ACFR provides the major
source of speakers for the local committees.

As members of the ACFR all Boise Committee members are encouraged to attend the ACFR annual conference in Washington, D. C. each spring. This years conference
is on: